Snowboarder frostbitten after six nights in backcountry unprepared; nobody knew he was missing

By Bryce Borlick/Revelstoke Mountaineer

Alone and disoriented, a lost snowboarder faced the grim reality of yet another night in the mountainous backcountry of the Dogtooth range just outside Golden, B.C. It had already been six days since he ventured beyond the boundaries of Kicking Horse Resort and with overnight temps dipping below -20 Celsius, frostbite was taking a steady toll. His odds of survival were getting slim.

Even worse, the snowboarder wasn’t certain potential rescuers knew he was missing.

The ordeal began on Jan. 29 as an ordinary day at the resort for the 35-year-old Quebec resident, but it took an ominous turn when he crossed the resort boundary, lured by the untracked powder lying just on the other side of the rope line. Underestimating the size of the terrain and the difficulty of re-entering the resort, the skier descended toward Canyon Creek. It wasn’t until he reached the valley bottom and started to bootpack back up that he realized that the cold grasp of night would soon be upon him. Ill-equipped for a night in the backcountry and with no way of communicating his situation, his prospects were daunting.

“Canyon Creek is an area just beyond the resort boundaries that tends to draw in skiers, it‘s often the first place to be searched when someone goes missing,” said Marco Shenovac of the Golden RCMP detachment.

With the first signs of frostbite and hypothermia setting in by the morning, the snowboarder realized that he hadn’t left a trip plan with anyone and that his dire situation would likely go unnoticed for days. Abandoning his hope of being rescued, he decided to follow the creek downstream, thinking it would lead back to civilization. His progress was slow and by the afternoon it was clear that he’d be spending another night in the wilderness. Amazingly, he repeated this basic pattern for five more days, enduring significant snowfall and painful frostbite.

Initially the snowboarder’s truck in the resort parking lot was thought to be that of someone camping in the backcountry, but by the evening of February 3 — more than five days later — it was becoming clear that something was amiss. The Golden RCMP detachment was notified of the vehicle. It was actually a friend’s truck with Alberta plates. After attempts to contact the owner failed, they requested assistance from Golden and District Search and Rescue.

At the crack of dawn on February 4, three GADSAR personnel took to the air to search commonly-traveled backcountry areas for signs of distress. Hampered by recent snowfall that made tracks difficult to see, the sharp-eyed crew was lucky to spot footprints along Canyon Creek that led them to the victim, who was now eight kilometres from the resort. He was suffering from severe frostbite but was relieved that his six-day ordeal in the mountains had come to an end. He was flown out for treatment in hospital in Golden.

This marks GADSAR’s third rescue from the Canyon Creek area in two weeks. The area lies directly south of the marked resort boundaries and is easily accessed from the gondola. On Sunday, Jan. 22 a snowboarder was airlifted out after spending two nights in the area. Just five days later, another snowboarder descended into the drainage and was lucky to be airlifted out before dark.

Update: Based on information we were provided, our original story said the man was a skier. A GADSAR member later informed us he was a snowboarder. We have updated the story accordingly.